Name ____________________________________
Date _________________
LAB 2.1 B
Separating a Mixture
Purpose: To separate a mixture of iron filings, salt, sand and water.
Instructions: Your write-up must include the following:
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Title
Purpose
Materials (a list of possible materials is below)
Safety (a list of possible materials is below)
Procedure (clear, concise, repeatable, numbered steps. You do not need to include multiple trials for
this lab).
Observations throughout the lab
Conclusion (Restate the purpose, summarize your technique. How well did it work? What would
you change next time? What did designing this lab teach you about the need to put steps in the right
sequence? What did this lab teach you about mixtures?)
Possible Materials: beakers, funnel, filter paper, ceramic triangle/ring/ring stand or funnel rack/ring
stand, saran wrap, magnet, hot plate/Bunsen burner set-up, stir rod.
Possible safety concerns: Use caution with hot glassware and liquids.
Copyright © 2009 by Kendall Hunt Publishing Company
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LAB 2.1 B—Teacher Information
Goals:
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Demonstrate separating mixtures by physical changes.
Designing a lab skills: writing steps in a logical sequence
Lab skills: filtering, drying
Time needed: Planning—30 minutes, Performing and finishing write-up—45-60 minutes
Materials needed:
Lab group: at least two beakers, funnel, filter paper, ceramic triangle/ring/ring stand or funnel rack/ring
stand, saran wrap square, magnet, hot plate/Bunsen burner, stir rod and anything thing else they ask for.
Class chemical set-up: large beaker or container with a mixture of salt, sand, iron filings and water (or
separate smaller containers can be pre set-up for each lab group), areas for students to return their
separated components.
Tips:
The saran wrap can be used to wrap around the magnet to extract the filings. When removed from the
magnet, the filings will drop off the wrap easily. Some students may not realize this and use the magnet
without the wrap—it will work fine, but they will have to scrap the filings off, taking more time.
Many students will use techniques out of the most logical order—they will evaporate the water before
filtering the sand
Possible procedures: (for this lab, most procedures will very likely be similar. They can be evaluated
based upon clarity, conciseness, completeness and logical order of techniques)
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Wrap the magnet with saran wrap. Stir the mixture with the wrapped magnet until all the iron
filings have been collected
Remove the wrap from the magnet, being careful to keep all the iron filings in the wrap.
Set up a filtration station: Fold filter paper into fourths, place in the funnel and wet down. Place
funnel in ceramic triangle on ring on ring stand (or in funnel rack). Place an empty beaker
underneath the funnel, with funnel tip inside and touching the side of the beaker.
Decant the mixture down the stirring rod into the funnel.
Remove the filter paper with the sand from the funnel and lay flat on a paper towel to dry.
Place the beaker containing the filtrate (water and salt) on the hot plate (or Bunsen burner set-up).
Heat until near dryness. Remove beaker from heat source—using caution with hot glassware—and
allow the heat in the glass to finish the drying.
Place all components of the mixture in areas designated by the teacher.
Copyright © 2009 by Kendall Hunt Publishing Company
Page 1 of 1